- Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets on Brisbane Final to win her first WTA title of the year
- In the men’s final, Grigor Dimitrov employed his experience and court craft to defeat the youthful Holger Rune 7-6(5) 6-4
On Sunday, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets on Brisbane Final to win her first WTA title of the year. The match was a repeat of last year’s Australian Open final, where Sabalenka came from a set down to secure victory in brilliant fashion. But on this occasion, she failed to pull a comeback despite entering the final on a 15-match winning streak. Rybakina won the match 6-0 6-3 to secure the WTA 500 title.
“I think the score doesn’t show the reality because all the games were quite tight, to be honest. Couple of moments maybe I was a bit luckier. I knew no matter the score it’s going to still be difficult in the second set. It was just a few moments again where it could turn the other way around.” Elena Rybakina told reporters after the match, as per tennis.com.
Elena Rybakina crushed Aryna Sabalenka 6-0 6-3 in the final of the Brisbane International on Sunday. Photo/ ESPN.
Neither Rybakina nor Sabalenka had lost a set prior to their meeting in the Brisbane Final on Sunday. Everyone expected the match to be a tight one as the two were in red-hot form. However, Rybakina had other ideas as it took her just 25 minutes to claim the first set en route to triumph.
The Kazakh star took the set on the back of three breaks of serve as Sabalenka sprayed 12 unforced errors. She broke the world number two at the start of the second set and was 2-0 up in a matter of minutes. Even though Sabalenka put on a fight this time, halting the run of games by breaking in the third game, she couldn’t match Rybakina’s game on Sunday.
Her hopes of pulling a comeback like she did at the Australian Open last year were quickly extinguished by the determined Rybakina, who served out a comprehensive victory in an hour and 13 minutes. This was the world number four’s sixth career title.
Dimitrov Wins Men’s Brisbane Final
In the men’s final, Grigor Dimitrov employed his experience and court craft to defeat the youthful Holger Rune 7-6(5) 6-4. The thrilling match lasted for more than two hours before Dimitrov secured a memorable win to clinch his ninth ATP Tour title.
After dropping the first set in his season opener to Andy Murray, Dimitrov went on to win all the remaining sets before facing Rune in a match of the two top seeds at the Brisbane International on Sunday. The 32-year-old, who was previously compared to Roger Federer, won the first set in the tiebreak.
Holger Rune, who lost the first set despite putting on a spirited fight, would not back down in the second and put on a tough challenge for Dimitrov. However, the Bulgarian served out to love and emerged victorious.
Former world number three Grigor Dimitrov defeated Holger Rune 7-6(5) 6-4 at Pat Rafter Arena to clinch his first ATP title in over six years. Photo/ ATP Tour.
Dimitrov dropped to his knees after ending his long wait for a title against a young talent. It was his first title victory since 2017 when he won the Nitto ATP Finals. He is projected to rise one place to number 13 in Monday’s ATP singles rankings ahead of the Australian Open.
Speaking after being presented with the trophy, an emotional Dimitrov said the victory meant a lot to him.
“It’s been a while since I held one of these. It’s a bit emotional. It is difficult to describe this in words. My love affair started here, 11 years ago in Brisbane, and it continues. I’m very thankful to lift the trophy again, it means a lot to me for so many different reasons.” Grigor Dimitrov is quoted by BBC Sports.
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